Janice Hahn's Opposition To Syria Strike Puts Her in the Spotlight

Anybody who covered Janice Hahn when she was on the L.A. City Council knows that she always had a knack for getting herself quoted.

So it's not too surprising that Hahn, who is now in Congress, has been all over the news talking about Syria in the last few days.

Hahn is one of 435 members of Congress, which can make it difficult to stand out. She's also not exactly a foreign policy maven -- she's not on the Armed Services Committee, the Intelligence Committee or the Foreign Affairs Committee.

But she has been accessible, and -- unlike many of her Democratic colleagues -- she has been fairly clear about opposing a strike in Syria.

"I'm not there yet," she said after a press conference on Sunday. "I would not vote for it today." Her remarks were picked up by ABC News, NPR and CNN:

She followed that up with a one-on-one interview with Wolf Blitzer on Monday. By then, her opposition had hardened. "I hate at this time to do this," she said.

Among local members of Congress, Hahn has easily been the most visible on this issue. Most of the others have been more equivocal. Alan Lowenthal has agonized publicly about his position. Others, like Adam Schiff, Xavier Becerra and Brad Sherman, have said they would support a strike under certain conditions.

Hahn told the Daily Breeze that she's heard from a lot of constituents who oppose an attack. And Hahn does seem to be more in tune with public opinion than many of her colleagues are. A Washington Post/ABC News poll found that 59 percent of Americans oppose a strike in Syria.